Saxon, member of a Germanic people who in ancient times lived in the area of modern Schleswig and along the Baltic coast. During the 5th century CE the Saxons spread rapidly through north Germany and along the coasts of Gaul and Britain.
Anyone familiar with European history will have heard of the Saxons. Originally a Germanic tribe from the North Sea coast of the Netherlands, over the centuries they spread across Europe like wildfire. Due to their illiterate nature, tracing their journey through Europe isn’t always easy.
The Saxons, a Germanic ethnolinguistic group originating north of the Elbe River in what is now northern Germany, played a formative role in shaping the sociopolitical and cultural fabric of both continental Europe and the British Isles.